Short burst of hypersensitivity disorder?

[Cillie]

Hey guys, I am curious about a condition I have had ever since I can remember. It is a short burst in hypersensitivity especially in hearing and touch.

It last for up to about 2 minutes and is quite annoying. It makes every movement feel more difficult and exhausting. When I listen to music in this state it is so vivid that is sounds disfigured and ugly. I feel more irritable as well. I have no idea what triggers this state but it happens maximum twice a week.

So I was wondering if anyone has heard of a similar disorder or knows what it is, or even experiences it themselves.

 

[Cillie]

Ok so I just read the thread that physicsforums cannot give a diagnosis to this, but would it be possible to just hear people's opinions about the disorder, because I have been to a psychiatrist who didn't know about this disorder.

 

[Evo]

Ok so I just read the thread that physicsforums cannot give a diagnosis to this, but would it be possible to just hear people's opinions about the disorder, because I have been to a psychiatrist who didn't know about this disorder.

Yes, it's ok to ask if anyone hs heard of such a disorder.

 

[micromass]

Maybe see a doctor like a neurologist?? It might not be a mental problem, but a physical problem.

 

[Cillie]

Well I have thought about it a lot and I doubt it is a physical problem since a auditory excitement cannot be brought on by physical means, the only thing it can do it create disturbances such as when the cilia are damaged and you get tinnitus. This is more of a over focusing on the different sounds to an extent where it drives you crazy and the same for the touch excitement. I think it could be some kind off epileptic episode in the brain. I also know that a lot of people practice the art of heightening senses, but I can't find anything on an involuntary heightened sense.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't get them so I can't speak to it, but this sounds an awful lot like how people describe migraines.

 

[Cillie]

I don't know a lot about migraines either, but I know one symptom is a headache, while I experience no kind of pain in this state of mind.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't know a lot about migraines either, but I know one symptom is a headache...

Not all the time.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I don't know a lot about migraines either, but I know one symptom is a headache, while I experience no kind of pain in this state of mind.

Dave's right. You can have a Migraine aura isolated from the rest of the syndrome, and many people do. They have the auras without ever getting the headaches.

Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, experiences migraines himself and used to work in a Migraine clinic. He wrote a whole book on the subject.

Migraines are a syndrome, and there are four stages in a classic migraine:

http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/e27892/index_en.html
http://www.zomig.com/migraine-symptoms.aspx

Sacks reports that a person can experience anyone of the stages without also experiencing any of the others. This is not rare, in fact it's pretty common, just not well known by the public. A person can experience Migraines without ever having a headache!

Anyway, Sacks, himself, had two episodes where his hearing suddenly changed. Specifically, the sound of music became chaotic and extremely unpleasant to him, sounding like the clattering of pots and pans. He diagnosed himself to have been experiencing an isolated Migraine aura during these episodes.

So, this sounds like what you experienced in the sense it was an episodic extreme alteration in your hearing. Seizures are also episodic, so that's another possibility.

If you want to see a doctor about this, I must echo Micromass: a neurologist is going to be the best bet in sorting this out.

 

[Cillie]

Thanks a lot for the info it looks as if you guys are probably right.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Thanks a lot for the info it looks as if you guys are probably right.

I was able to find Sacks report of this online if you want to read it:

Jan-Maarten asks about non-visual auras. While visual auras are the commonest, there may be other types. There are sometimes auditory auras in which sounds seem abnormally loud, soft, or distorted; one may hear hallucinatory tunes, as Hilary Mantel describes in her book; one may lose all sense of pitch and tone, or become unable to recognize (normally) familiar music. I have twice had such “amusic” migraine auras myself, and I have described them recently in “Musicophilia.” Here is the passage from the book:...

http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/answers-to-reader-questions/

 

[ViewsofMars]

Hey guys, I am curious about a condition I have had ever since I can remember. It is a short burst in hypersensitivity especially in hearing and touch.

It last for up to about 2 minutes and is quite annoying. It makes every movement feel more difficult and exhausting. When I listen to music in this state it is so vivid that is sounds disfigured and ugly. I feel more irritable as well. I have no idea what triggers this state but it happens maximum twice a week.

So I was wondering if anyone has heard of a similar disorder or knows what it is, or even experiences it themselves.

Hi Cillie

You need to discuss this with your doctor as you already know, but I thought I would do a little research since I was interested in what you said. This is what "I" found which is from the Vestibular Disorders Association:

Vestibular Hyperacusis
Are you sensitive to certain sounds?

Hyperacusis is the perception of an unusual auditory sensitivity to some environmental noises or tones. The particular symptoms of cochlear hyperacusis and vestibular hyperacusis can help physicians and audiologists distinguish between the two disorders. The effects of hyperacusis can range from a mild sense of unease to a complete loss of balance or upright posture with severe ear pain. In serious cases, it can cause seizure-like activity in the brain.

Hyperacusis can be associated with auto-immune disorders, traumatic brain injury, metabolic disorders, and other conditions. It has not been sufficiently studied in the adult population and is often ascribed to psychological conditions rather than being recognized as a physiologic symptom of cochlear or vestibular damage.

The hearing and balance systems of the inner ear are interconnected. Both systems are filled with fluid whose movement stimulates tiny sensory cells. Sounds are detected as energy vibrations; the human cochlea can hear best the frequencies associated with speech. The balance system uses lower-frequency sensations to help maintain posture in relation to gravity.

Hyperacusis is an abnormal condition in which the complex electrical signals generated by sound vibrations are misinterpreted, confused, or exaggerated. The signals coming in are identical to those that present to a normal ear, but the reaction in the abnormal system is markedly different: for example, the sounds in a quiet library may seem like a loud parade to a person with hyperacusis.

Please read on . . .
http://vestibular.org/vestibular-hyperacusis

I don't know a lot about migraines either, but I know one symptom is a headache, while I experience no kind of pain in this state of mind.

The Vestibular Disorders Association also states the following about Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV) that I thought was interesting:

Despite better diagnostic capabilities and efforts to improve public awareness and education, it is estimated that approximately 50% of migraineurs go undiagnosed or mismanaged to this day. Many self-treat, or are treated inappropriately for sinus or other non-migrainous types of headache.1

Often described as “sick headache,” migraine is typically characterized by unilateral onset of head pain, severe progressive intensity of pain, throbbing or pounding, and interference with the person’s routine activities. Accompanying symptoms of photophobia (sensitivity to light) or phonosensitivity (intolerance to noise), as well as nausea and/or vomiting, are common.

Following is a video filmed by Dr. P. Ashley Wackym of Portland, Oregon's Ear & Skull Base Center, showing a patient who has suffered from vestibular migraine. When Dr. Wackym first started seeing this girl she had to be confined to a wheelchair due to her severe symptoms. View this and more videos by Dr. Wackym on his YouTube channel.
[Please view the vidio online.]

Migraine and vestibular dysfunction

Approximately 35% of migraine patients have some vestibular syndrome at one time or another. This may be prior to, during, after, or totally independent of their migraine headache event. Some interesting parallels exist between migraine and non-migrainous vestibular dysfunction. Many of the food and environmental triggers for migraineurs are the same as those for patients with non-migrainous vestibular dysfunction. Hormonal fluctuations and weather changes (barometric-pressure variations) often exacerbate both conditions. Finally, diet modifications and certain medications used in migraine management may ameliorate or prevent the vestibular component of the migraine.

Please read on . . .
http://vestibular.org/migraine-associated-vertigo-mav

Wish you the best! Take care.

 

[Cillie]

Thanks a lot guys for taking the time to give me all of this information, it is all very interesting and has been very helpful in gaining perspective (just because it is harmless now doesn't mean it won't get worse). I will go and see a neurologist the first chance I get.(after my evil, stressful exams).

 

[ViewsofMars]

I will go and see a neurologist the first chance I get.(after my evil, stressful exams).

Hope you ace your exams. Brief mention, it is normally your primary care doctor who will refer you to a specialist. I hope you have a primary care doctor. He/she will determine who you need to see and it may not be a neurologist.